In recent years, portable computing and communication devices have inundated the market place. Competition has become fierce among manufacturers as they compete for the attention of consumers as well as their dollars. Thus, it is not uncommon for the average consumer to own a variety of portable devices such as a cell phone and a personal digital assistant (PDA) made from the same or different manufacturers or brands. Traditionally, different computing devices are not made to communicate with each other—especially if manufactured by or sold under different brands. For example, a Brand Q PDA typically cannot “talk” to a Brand Z PDA. Similarly, Brand Q PDA cannot interact with a Brand Z smartphone. For most users, this can cause many inconveniences and result in large amounts of wasted time because information must be entered separately into each device.
Associating peripheral input/output devices such as wireless keyboards and printers with a particular portable device can involve complex and cumbersome pairing procedures as well. For example, Bluetooth technology provides one conventional technique for pairing a device with a peripheral input/output tool. Unfortunately, Bluetooth only allows for fixed pairings. When a user of the tool is changed, the pairing process must be re-done. For instance, imagine that TOM's Bluetooth-enabled keyboard is paired with his laptop computer. TOM lends MARY his keyboard for her use with her tablet PC. When MARY is finished with the keyboard, she returns it to TOM. In this brief scenario, the Bluetooth-enabled tool requires the pairing process to be performed 3 separate times: twice by TOM and once by MARY.
In addition to the lack or inability of communication between different devices, technology, in general, as well as consumers have converged on the desire and/or need for smaller and smaller devices. Unfortunately, the smaller the device, the smaller the display area or user interface. Consequently, the amount of information which can be viewed at once or readily viewed at all may be substantially reduced or non-existent. For instance, personalizing the device or mere general use of the device can be time-consuming and frustrating for the user and result in an overall poor user experience.